Reflection
by Triangulum
Summary: Oneshotmaybe, Ronon  reflects on his life up til now. TeylaRonon. T to be safe.
1. Ronon Reflects

**A/N Oneshot, though I might do one from Teyla's POV, depends. I've been out of the fanfic circuit for awhile now and I know my writing is sketchy right now. Reviews are helpful.**

He was a fighter, that much he had always known. When he was boy, he and the other boys he grew up with were always getting into fights with each other. When he was nine, one of the older kids, a 14 year old, cornered him on his way home and 'taught him a lesson.' It was the only time he was ever beat up, not that he would admit it. Since that day, he had been working tirelessly to improve himself, to be better than anyone else.

When he was a teenager, other boys thought he has wasting time, always running, lifting weights, and exercising. That was, until they were the ones in trouble and needed Ronon's help. Then he was the man of the hour.

That's part of why he had joined the Satedan military in the first place. He could protect his planet, and he was damn good at it. His adult life had been spent fighting the Wraith, who seemed to have a strange, if not alarming, interest in Sateda. After they had destroyed him home and hunted him, he had become so used to fighting them for what they had done, he had forgotten how it was to fight on a team.

Then he met her. It probably wasn't the most dignified start to a friendship, him tying her up and all. _Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. _Ronon mused to himself. Now, he deeply regretted how he first treated her. Though, it _was _that act that brought her into his life.

Now he was part of the team. That took some getting used to. He hadn't fought for something in a long time. Sure, he was fighting the Wraith, but that wasn't something he was fighting _for_, that was something he was fighting against. Now he had a reason to fight other then personal vengeance, he had her.

Teyla had kept him grounded. Even when they had first met, she had that effect on him. No one had been able to do that to him before. It was unnerving and irritating. Slowly though, his irritation ebbed away into appreciation. He couldn't pinpoint the exact minute it happened, but suddenly one day it hit him like a blow to the face in one of their sparring sessions, he loved her.

Ronon rolled over in the bed and Teyla's sleeping face entered his line of vision. Her eyelids fluttered slightly in her sleep. Ronon smiled to himself and lightly brushed her hair out of her eyes.

He hadn't been looking for this to happen. In fact, he had never imagined it would. Well of course he had _imagined,_ but that's all he thought of it, idle fantasies of a bored mind. He never thought the thoughts and dreams she provoked from him would damn near turn into reality.

True, not all of them did. He had had one particularly odd dream about Teyla, himself and a few Atlantis crew members…It involved scuba diving for a hidden treasure of tava beans and creating a football team of radioactive fish…And truth be told, that was one he was glad he never saw in his conscious life.

Teyla's face glowed, even in the dark bedroom they shared. Ronon ran his thumb softly across her jaw line, careful not wake her. He wanted nothing more than to protect her, keep her safe and away from any pain. He laughed to himself, _Like she'd ever let me. She'd smack me just for suggesting she needed it._

Sure, he had saved her life a few times, no more than she deserved. Then of course, she saved his life right back.

He smiled down at her, curled into his side. He marveled and how perfectly she fit there, and how natural it felt to have her next to him. He squeezed her closer to him and buried his face in her hair. She still smelled fresh.

Teyla stirred in Ronon's arms and looked up, questioningly.

"Is everything all right?" She asked, trying to hide the sleep from her voice. And failing.

Ronon leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, go back to sleep. Everything's great."


	2. Teyla Reflects

**A/N Yeah, this was originally meant to be a one shot, but when "vacationing" in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, there really wasn't much else to do. Nothing against any Wisconsin-ers, but it's really not fun in winter. AU.**

She was also a fighter, though for slightly different reasons. She had been fighting to get stronger, strong enough to keep her and her people safe. There was another, more personal reason too though. She had wanted to make her father proud. After he died, she wanted to be strong to honor his memory. And she succeeded.

In her quest to keep her people alive, she hadn't spent much time on herself. She had kept few friends, but among them was the elderly Charin. Charin had always worried about Teyla's social decisions. Teyla had never really dated, though many Athosians had displayed and interest in her over the years. She had had a short fling with Kanaan, but that had ended badly.

Teyla made a wry face. _Badly was a mild way to put it._

Not long after she violently and bodily threw him from her life, Ronon entered it.

She had heard the women of Atlantis speak of the "whirlwind" feeling when it came to romance, but she had always chalked it up to girly puppy love. Infatuation, or something similar. Then she met him. It felt not only as if her life had been turned upside down, but inside out, backwards and sideways all at once.

She felt the pull of his like a magnet. A huge, dreadlocked magnet. He intrigued her, and, at time, infuriated her. She became away over the months of the pull she felt towards him. She could tell when he entered a room, as if a surge of warmth flowed through her body. When he was gone, that warmth was snuffed out. She could feel where he was standing in the room without even having to glance at him. She was used to being wary and on edge, but his presence soothed her. In a galaxy full of Wraith fears and violent nightmares, he was the only thing that made her feel safe.

From the start, Ronon was almost always with her. On missions or at Atlantis, he was never more than an arm's reach away. Just in case. She knew he thought of himself as a protector of sorts, even though he knew she could handle herself. It amused her slightly, and, though she would never admit it, made her ecstatic that he cared.

Considering the amount of time they spent together, and the bond they shared, no one was surprised when, after a particularly violent, gruesome and difficult mission, Ronon went looking for Teyla. From what she had heard from others, he had combed the halls, face bruised and slightly bloody from scratches, only stopping once in awhile if he saw someone he recognized, asking them if they knew where Teyla happened to be.

She hadn't known what had come over him, just that he suddenly burst into the gym where she, who had elected to stay behind, had just finished a lesson with a few Earth women. She took in his appearance, and asked if he was injured. He hadn't answered, just stepped up to her, seized herby the neck and waist and crashed his lips into hers. From that second on, they became even more inseparable than they had been before.

She certainly hadn't been concerned with love before him, and she hadn't been searching for it. But looking into Ronon's green, so alive eyes, she couldn't regret it at all. Charin would be proud.

"Do you promise, with all you are and all you have, that you will love, care for and protect her in all things and in all life?"

Teyla had not missed Ronon's raised eyebrow and slight smirk at the word, 'protect', but he answered, "I promise with all that I am."

Teyla suppressed a shiver at the sound. It still amazed her, and pleased Ronon, that the sound of his voice could send a wave of shivers through her.

"Do you promise, with all you are and all you have, that you will love, treasure, and obey him in all things and in all life?"

Now Teyla definitely saw his amused smile.

"I promise with all that I am to love, treasure and obey him," she said. "Sometimes," she added under her breath. Ronon laughed joyously, glancing and the scandalized looking official who, after a second, nodded, still looking shocked. Teyla watched as Ronon gathered her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers.

The official announced to the gathered crowd that Ronon and Teyla were now bound in life and in love, but she didn't hear him. All her heard was Ronon's breath and his heart beating.

Nope, Teyla had never been a huge dater. Not that it mattered to her now anyways.


End file.
